It's the small changes
by jojoangel01
Summary: It's never been easy for those two on Valentine's Day. But both decide, that this year everything simply will HAVE to change. Sweet Heiji and Kazuha Twoshot
1. Chapter 1

_Hello guys. Yeah I'm still alive XD and I hope you like this little sweet V-day story! Inspired by a fanart Cherry drew, duh! (Something new and nobody would have guessed, huh?XD) Hope you enjoy this! Love, Jojo_

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**It's the small changes... **

_ by Jojo_

The sun shone brightly, the birds chirped happily, the wind was chilly but still acceptably mild. But no matter how cold it got today, he was certain that nobody would feeze on a day like this, February or not. You ask why? Easy, even for all of the none-detectives among us.

It was Valentine's Day.

Love was practically flying among those birds high up in the sky and everybody seemed happy for no apparent reason at all.

Now, we all know that Hattori Heiji was one of the most rational thinking persons out there. Usually he didn't spend a second thought on such useless events that were merely invented for consumer purposes. The only great thing about it was the chocolate that he got every year from various fans of his that he didn't even know. Often, he would eat most of it in class with a smug grin on his face because of the annoyed expression that would regulary grace the face of his childhood friend.

He really loved teasing her and daring her with his eyes to make a comment about it. But she'd always turn away from him when he caught her looking and pretend to not mind at all while pouting openly. On those days, even her closest friends knew to not mess with her. She once got in a screaming fit because a girlfriend of hers asked her casually if she hadn't made any chocolate this year. Poor girl, couldn't hear properly for the rest of the day.

Kazuha had been incredibly sorry afterwards but the arrogant smirk on Heiji's face managed to make her forget everything else. He enjoyed himself immensely. He knew it was mean but it was simply so much fun.

Why he did it? Because he could. And because he loved to tease her, focus her attention on only him and titillate this passionate spark inside of her until it was blazing like a raging fire.

What Heiji didn't know was that Kazuha, for the past couple of Valentine's Days, always had a special chocolate heart hidden in her bag, carrying it around with her the whole day like a time bomb that was likely to go off any second, leaving her practially on edge even without his doing. But whenever she thought it was the right moment, either he would do something incredibly stupid to enrage her and thus make her refuse to give the chocoalte heart to him or somebody else would interrupt the scene. In any case, every Valentine's Day she was left frustrated and eating the chocolate herself.

'_But not this year!' _she promised herself the night of the 13th of February while stirring the brown substance with a determined expression.

However, the next morning things looked completely different. Kazuha's heart was pounding so hard it made her get up way before her alarm usually woke her after a restless sleep. She hardly noticed the unusual warm February day on her way to school, her bag once again feeling like a time bomb. She sighed, heart heavy, her steps seeming to bring her nowhere. It was the same as every year and that thought made her sad.

Because this year was supposed to be special. They had come along so well over the past year and grown so much closer. Granted, he still hadn't brought up the guts to kiss her but they had held hands a couple of times when they were alone and although nobody noticed, they did realize that their fighting was becoming more and more endearing; a light, teasing flirting instead of violent rage. He payed more attention to her than he used to and occasionally a compliment would leave his lips; of course only when they were alone but it still made her day and haunted her dreams. When he smiled at her, a smile that was solely meant for her it easily increased her heartbeat to a painful speed and left her knees wobbly like jelly.

But they still hadn't kissed, or gone on a date, or talked about the status of their relationship. She had put all her hopes into that one chocolate heart with a big "H" next to a katana on it but now feared that she wouldn't get around to giving it to him, again. The girl exhaled in pure frustration.

"Oi, what are you sighing for on a nice day like this, ahou?"

Kazuha didn't even have to turn her head to know who this insolent voice belonged to. "Good morning, Heiji." She muttered indifferently and walked on.

The detective stopped everything, walking, breathing and so on, and was for a moment glued to the spot. That was definitely not a response he had counted on. Quickly regaining his composure, he ran after her and fell in place with her steps. "What's wrong?"

'_You wouldn't understand anyway, ahou!' _her mind screamed but she didn't dare voice those words out loud.

Her cheeks colored a little but she still refused to look at him as she spoke on with a quiet, tired tone of voice. "Just tired. Couldn't sleep well."

"Oh..." was all that he said as he continued walking quietly next to her, thinking of a way to cheer her up a little and feeling extremely pathetic and useless for not coming up with anything clever.

Too soon they had arrived at the schoolbuilding without a word passing between them. A little awkwardly and unsure, he stepped forward and opened the huge door. But instead of entering as he usually would do, he held it open and turned to give her a look, telling her with his eyes to go ahead.

It was a pretty small gesture but her whole face lit up right away. Her heart skipped a beat and her insides warmed up quickly as she gifted him with a smile that let his own heart race in return and she stepped forward and past him.

"Thank you." She whispered, creating quick eye contact before walking on with rosy cheeks. With a silly yet incredibly satisfied expression, he walked in after her, hands securely in his pockets.

For bystanders it didn't look like a big deal or like something had happened here at all; but Heiji and Kazuha knew better than that. It was unspoken, it was a small, honest gesture but it was there.

The day went by other than she had expected it to. Sure, the girls were completely wacky, giggling madly about their plans for the day and when they planned to get their chosen one alone to give him their chocolate. Kazuha was never left alone by her girlfriends, the talking around her louder than usual and all consuming. However, that didn't stop her from sneaking glances over at her childhood friend at a regular basis. She saw the usual pile of sweets on his desk but with a song in her heart, she noticed that he was hardly acknowledging it. On the contrary, he was reading some book with his feet on his small desk right next to the sweets but not one wrapping paper in sight. And as the day passed by, she saw the pile remained untouched.

'_Jeez, I wonder where my deduction skills suddenly come from...oh boy, I hang out with Heiji way too much.' _she thought with a gentle expression on her face after glancing over to him again and seeing the guy stiffle a yawn behind his hand. She knew she really didn't mean that.

Today she couldn't concentrate at all on what the teacher was saying because she was thinking about one question over and over again. Should she dare?

In the second big break she had managed to sneak away from her friends, claiming she had forgotten something in her drawer. Immediately, she had started searching for him and quickly found him sitting on a bench with a book in his hand and his mouth filled with an apple. She smiled at the typical sight, looked around paranoid and walked over to him as casually as she could.

"Hey." she greeted him with the coolest voice she could muster.

He gave her a happy smile. "Hey. What's up?"

"Nothing, I was just walking by and thought I'd say hello." she lied miserably and sat down next to him, deciding to change the subject before he could ask more about her motives. "What are you reading? Oh no, wait, let me guess. You're reading the 'Valentine's murder', right?"

Heiji smiled. "Yeah, thought I adapt to the celebrations. How'd you guess?"

"You're reading it every year." She smiled at him.

"And I thought I had finally rubbed off on you." He grinned and both laughed.

'_It's now or never, you'll never get a better opportunity, girl!' _Her mind screamed at her and she knew it was true.

"Heiji...speaking of which, there's something I want to...I r-really want to...to...eh...how to say this..." she broke the eye contact, feeling her cheeks burn while Heiji continued to look at her curiously. "Well, I just wanted-"

"Oi, Hattori!" A bunch of guys came over to them and Kazuha clutched her bag tighter to her chest, feeling her cheeks darken in color as she stared at them with big eyes that could probably kill at the moment. "Come over man, let's play some basketball. We're missing one man and we need to kick the asses of the B-class!"

"Sure." Heiji answered and turned to look at Kazuha. She would have almost smiled because she saw something apologetic in his look. "What is it that you wanted?"

Panic grabbed her heart. She blinked a few times at him, lost. "Er...I just wanted to ask you if I could borrow that book after you're done with it." she totally lied to him, again.

Heiji looked at her wordlessly for a moment and she could have sworn she saw disappointment flicker through his eyes but it quickly disappeared again so she wasn't too sure. "Sure. Here, take it with you now. You know I've read this like a million times already."

"Yeah. Thank you." She numbly took the book from him.

They stood up and Heiji was following the guys to the field, Kazuha looking after them, her heart dropping. She had missed her chance. Damn it and damn those guys.

"Oi, Kazuha!" Heiji's voice tore her from her mental kickings. He had turned around and was staring at her from across the yard.

"What?" she screamed back.

He suddenly smirked. "Do you think I'm supposed to tell you that the major's son is the killer?" Laughing madly at her perplex expression, he started running away from her to find a hiding spot before she had a chance to react.

When his words sunk in completely and he had already a head start, she sprung to her feet and started chasing after him, swinging her bag in his direction. "Why, you-" Her voice thundered over the heads of the other students.

Heiji laughed loudly while he ran around the court with a raging girl on his heels.

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'_This is it. School is over and you stupid didn't manage to give him your chocolate. Well, congrats! You can go home now and eat it yourself. Stupid, stupid, stupid.' _Kazuha scolded herself angrily, not able to ban the sadness from her heart as she passed the schoolgates.

Happily giggling girls and grinning boys talking actively with each other passed by her and Kazuha felt miserable. Her heart felt heavier than ever in her chest and she tried to block out all sounds.

Defeated, fighting tears and with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, she started walking home slowly. _'This was the worst day ever.' _She sighed again, head hanging as she walked until somebody called her name. She turned around and her cheeks immediately reddened as she saw who was calling her.

"Hey Kazuha, why didn't you wait?" Heiji panted as he came to a halt next to her.

"Eh...I forgot." She lied yet again, looking at her shoes. The truth was that she didn't see any chance of catching him alone and only wanted to get home and wallow in her misery for a while.

"Jeez, it sure isn't your day today." Heiji started the conversation after they began to walk again, arms behind his head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you seem pretty sad all day long. As if something's bothering you a lot." As she shot him a look that clearly asked him how the hell he knew that again, he grinned knowingly. "You keep knitting your eyebrows together when you're pondering something and you fidget with your fingers extremely often, too. It's a habit of yours since...practically always."

Kazuha looked thoroughly surprised and they stopped walking for a moment. She had never realized she was doing these things until he pointed it out. A careful hand touched her forehead and she jerked it away immediately. He was right!

"Uh...what are you doing here anyway? Don't you have some cases to solve or something?" She tried lamely to change the subject, her cheeks darker than ever.

They had started walking again and she was arguing with herself if she should be flattered that he was paying so much attention to her. The result? Of course she was flattered! This was Heiji's way of telling her that he cared about her and noticed even small changes in her behaviour and that little fact alone made her happier than she thought she could be. A small, sincere smile played across her face.

"I..." the detective coughed into his fist discreetly, clearing his throat at the same time. He looked straight ahead, cursing as he felt his own cheeks hotten. Deciding that he should be honest with her for once, especially on a day like this, he decided on the whole, embarrassing truth and damn the consequences. "I wanted to check on you."

Her head turned to look at him surprised. After a few more moments, his own head turned to look at her, unsure of what kind of reaction to expect from his childhood friend. "You were worried?" She asked him gently after some time of silence, her voice a soft whisper in the noises of the city.

Heiji was glad that his cheeks didn't show too much of his embarrassment because he felt like they were as burning as the sun on a hot summer day. Or at least hot enough to cook an egg. With bacon. We don't want to exaggerate, after all.

"Yeah." It was a vey soft sound, barly audible but she heard it loud and clearly because to her, it was the only thing that existed in this world right now.

She felt moved to tears but held on desperately to her calm, managing not to cry. However, she did give him **the** most beautiful smile he had seen in a very long while. Realizing that words were no longer needed between them on this amazingly nice afternoon, she took his hand and squeezed it in gratitude, thanking him wordlessly for caring about her and for always being there for her.

He returned her smile and her squeeze and, as they walked on, they both didn't let go of each others' hands

"I'll take you home...?" he was not exctly sure if this was a statement or a question. Probably a mix of both and he wished she would just respond quickly to this without lots of thinking since the sudden nervousness in his stomach was driving him nuts.

"I would like that very much." She answered right away as if sensing his distress.

Heiji's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at her and smiled as he saw her own smile. Quickly averting his eyes from her face, he looked at the road ahead, the tell tale smile still present and stuffed his free hand in his pocket in his usual, cool manner.

All too fast, as both thought, the house of Kazuha came to view and both felt immense disappointment but neither said anything. As they finally stopped right in front of the entrance, the awkward situation returned.They stood there for a couple of minutes, looking anywhere but at the other or their still joined hands.

"Well..." Kazuha started when she couldn't bear the situation anymore. "Thank you very much for taking me home." She said in a gentle voice that snapped him out of his trance.

"You are welcome." he finally replied and reluctantly dropped her hand to stuff it into his other pocket. Kazuha didn't know why exactly but there was something about him standing there sheepishly like a young boy that was unendingly adorable to her. Before she could change her mind, she opened her bag and quickly found what she was looking for.

"For you." She had meant to say but it turned out to be the most quiet whisper she had ever spoken in. Embarrassed, shy, self-conscious and with burnig cheeks, she looked at his shoes while holding the small, blue and white chequered box out for him.

Heiji was taken aback. This was something he hadn't counted on, at all. He blinked irritated, his usually exceptionally fast working mind needing some time to comprehend what was going on in front of him. Was this really Kazuha, his childhood friend, giving him homemade chocolate for Valentine's Day? This couldn't be true, right?

He rubbed his eyes with his hands to make the illusion go away but even after opening his eyes again, she was still standing there with outstretched hands. And he could clearly see that she was getting more embarrassed by the minute and starting to lose her composure along with her temper.

"Would you just go ahead and take it already?" She finally snapped at him before she could help herself, her face beetred. "If you don't want it I can eat it myself and-"

"No!" he quickly reached out and took the box from her before she could put it away. The surprised girl closed her mouth and looked at him with a fuzzy feeling in her stomach as he examined the small object in his hands closely, the grin on his lips growing and growing. At long last, as if he only now remembered that she was there, too, he looked back at her with the most amazing smile on his lips. A smile that not only reached his eyes but also every other inch of skin on his face.

"Thank you." he finally said, looking a couple more times from the box to the girl and back with amazement in his eyes. She loved it. Thinking back, she knew she could hardly have hoped for a better reaction from her favorite tantei.

"You're welcome." She whispered, wondering if it was possile to feel ones increased heartbeat throb in ones cheeks that were currently almost overflowing with blood.

Heiji went back to carefully looking all over the box and Kazuha was vividly remembered of when they where young and he would inspect all his bithday presents for long, agonizing minutes until he guessed what was in them before opening them and thus frustrating all the other kids. She smiled blissfully at the memory.

"You know, you can open it." She offered and held her breath when he nodded and started to tear it open.

He removed the lid carefully and gasped very quietly at the sight, a look of amazement on his face. The 'H' with the katana were decorated so skillfully on the heart of dark chocolate that he couldn't help but wonder how long she had spent on this. He traced the white chocolate letter and sword carefully with one finger, almost afraid to destroy it.

"This is amazing." He whispered more to himself than to her, really, but she still heard every word of it and blushed again very badly before going back to look at her own shoes that she really needed to clean later, as shefound out. But not even stains on her shoes could ruin the song of bliss that had started playing inside of her at his words of praise and the look on his face.

Her heart skipped another beat as he startled her to the bones right after. His head shot up and he stared intenly at her before speaking almost forcefully with a very loud and clear voice.

"Go on a date with me." Kazuha blinked confused at him, one hand clutching the fabric of her blouse right over her heart in shock.

Heiji was staring intently at her, his eyes piercing into hers so fiercely that her breath was gone for a moment. Totally baffled, she could only nod subconsciously, eyes still wide. A huge grin spread on his face, his expression staying determined. "I'll pick you up at 8?"

Still bewildered, she nodded again, earning herself another smile from him. "Great, see you later. Bye."

Her hand moved to wave goodbye out of its own accord. He turned a last time to grin at her and then disappeared behind a building. Kazuha stood there, glued to the ground, her mind racing, her mouth open, moving slightly as if imitating a fish.

'_Did this all just really happen? Did I give him the chocolate and he accepted it, too? Do I...do I really have a **date** with Heiji????'_

She slowly turned and walked inside the empty house. Every move she was making, every gesture, everything she did felt like she was watching herself do it from a different universe. So many things were racing around her mind that autopilot must have taken over. Everything felt more than unreal and after thinking about it for another half an hour, she decided it was all a dream. None of this had just happened.

At this moment, her cellphone beeped, announcing an incoming text message. She took the phone in her hand with a raised eyebrow and opened the message. It was from Heiji.

'_So sorry, forgot to tell you how the chocolate tastes! Well, it's the most delicious thing I have ever tried, period. You should make more chocolate in the future, ahou. See you later!!'_

Kazuha blinked confused at her phone a couple of times and reread the whole message, then again and again...until, very slowly, a small smile creeped onto her lips. That smile spread and spread and spread and soon consumed all of her face that was smiling broadly down at her phone. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, her stomach overflowing with butterflies, her head spinning a little.

So it **had** happened! She had given him the chocolate, he had accepted it and then again by eating it and even complimenting her for it! Ok, granted, not very skillful but typical and for Heiji this was a huge compliment. Also, she knew he was only hiding his embarrassment behind his cool facade. Typical. AND, to top this amazing day, she was going on a DATE with Heiji, their first real and official date ever! Could this get any more perfect?

She let out a very deep breath and felt her muscles relax for the first time today. Today really was perfect and nothing would get in her way anymore.

Suddenly she sat upright, a loud "OH NO!" escaping her lips. She raced up to her room, throwing her bag and jacket somewhere on her way. What was she going to wear? She rummaged hastily through her closet and stepped back a minute later, an expression of pure shock on her face.

"I have nothing to wear!!" She shrieked panicked, arms high in the air, then pulling at her hair.

tbc

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_Liked it? Check on my homepage for the picture to this story. Part two of this _twoshot_ up tomorrow!_


	2. Chapter 2

Four long hours later, the two, tense teenagers sat in the cinema watching the movie Heiji generously let Kazuha choose while trying hard to ignore all the kissing couples around them.

Kazuha had managed to find something to wear after all but it had taken her longer than planned. However, Heiji had waited patiently for the additional half hour that had made them almost late for the movies. While Kazuha was impressed that he didn't complain about her being late with even one word, Heiji was occupied by thoughts of how nice she looked tonight and that maybe he should take her out more often if she always got this pretty for him. He really loves the sound of that, her making herself even more pretty only for him.

Under the watchful eyes of Toyama senior they had left her place. Later, Kazuha told him that her father had been elated when she had told him they were going on a date but Heiji had never felt more uneasy around him than at this night while waiting in the same room with him for her to finish.

On their way, he told her, blushing and with quiet voice, how nice she looked tonight, causing Kazuha to smile at him broadly. This time taking the initiative herself, she had tentatively reached out for his hand without saying another word. At that point, both had felt perfectly at peace with the world...whereas now...

Kazuha flinched a little as a moan errupted from behind her. Embarrassed, she sank more fully into her chair and tried to ignore the sounds of the other couples. Secretly she scolded herself for not chosing to watch the new Disney movie because the chance to encounter amorous couples there was certainly close to zero.

Heiji glanced inconspicuously at her a couple of times. He could feel her tension and uneasiness almost physically. He had to admit all the background noises were more than disturbing but he was more concerned about her. It was their first date, after all. She was supposed to have fun tonight and enjoy herself so much she would consider going out with him again but if this went on...

Not paying much attention to the movie, his mind was working hard to form a plan to make her feel more comfortable while at the same time trying desperately to stop thinking about kissing her. But that was a really difficult task because kissing Kazuha was something he had now wanted to do for a very long time and at the moment, the urge seemed unbearable. Also, the more he forced himself to not think about it, the more he did. The couples around them didn't really help ease his desires down and he caught himself a couple of times staring at her lips.

But, like during those other times he didn't seem able to muster the courage to do so and it made him crazy, for usually, Heiji was not scared of anything! He was a detective after all! If Kudo knew about this... Heiji shuddered. Let's just say, it was certain that he was never going to live that down.

After half an hour of watching her sit there awkwardly and trying to get in motion, he sighed dramatically, giving up. He slid closer to her on the chair and she raised her head to look at him surprised. Carefully but in one fluid and smooth movement as so not to lose his nerves, the arm facing her rendered itself useful for the first time and placed itself around her shoulders.

Heiji held his breath in anticipation, only now realizing that there was a possibility she could refuse his attention and even get mad at him. But before panic had the chance to make him run out of the cinema screaming and fumbling with his arms like a madman, he felt the air knocked out of his lungs as she smiled at him beautifully and leaned her upperbody against his side. Turning back to stare at the screen without really watching what was going on there, the detective smiled, for the time being really proud with himself.

The rest of the date went by way too fast but extremely pleasant for both young adults. The remaining of the movie had been bearable as they didn't leave their new found position, both enjoying the closeness between them. Afterwards, Heiji invited Kazuha to dinner, then walked her home and they didn't fight one single time.

A little more confident but still with heated cheeks, he had taken her hand along the way and was ecstatic when she didn't pull away but laced her fingers through his. All in all, their date turned out to be as perfect as he had hoped it would be. It seemed like it couldn't get any more perfect.

At least, it would be perfect if he would finally make the move and kiss her! This thought was occupying his head completely and thus making him appear more 'thoughtful' than he usually was which left Kazuha wondering if she was doing something wrong.

Therefore, it was not surprising that when they finally stopped in front of her door like they had earlier that day, both unexperienced young people were pretty tense, uneasy and confused about the further process of the evening. They stood there awkwardly, looking around and only occasionally at the other and when their looks met, they'd blush and look away.

His head was screaming at him to just get it over with and kiss her if he ever wanted to achive inner peace while a different part of him told him that he was a huge idiot and would probably ruin everything and make her want to never talk to him again. Either way, he was trapped.

"Eh..." Heiji started to break the silence that was filled with tension neither of them could bear any longer. The problem was that he had no idea what to say. Slowly, he let go of her hand and turned his body to face her. "W-well, I probably should...i-it was a really nice evening."

"Yeah, I enjoyed it very much. Thank you." Kazuha said quietly, feeling her cheeks darken and looked at her feet as she thanked him for more than just the invitation.

"You are welcome." He looked over her head and then back at the ground, hands balled to fists in his pockets.

'_Kiss her, kiss her!' _his mind was screaming but he was too terrified of the consequences. But since when was he such a horrible coward? HE? The famous detective of the...oh what the hell.

"I guess... I'll see you tomorrow." He said in one breath and forcefully made his legs move one step backwards instead of forward like his body was invisibly pulling him to.

A heavy ping of disappointment coursed through her body but she flashed him a smile and nodded. She didn't want to appear ungrateful or leave him worried because of her selfish wish to kiss him.

'_But why didn't he kiss me?'_

"Yes. Good night." As she looked at him standing there with his hands in pockets as usual, trying to look cool but not able to ban the nervousness from his eyes and expression, she couldn't help but find him adorable and thus, gift him with a real smile that shone through her.

Heiji was compelled to react to her radiant smile that he was sure could melt stones in a heartbeat. He nodded, his own happy smile now apparent. "Good night."

They stood there for another, long moment, smiling at each other until the situation once again became awkward. Without saying a word, she raised her hand to wave to him and slowly walked up the few stairs to the door. Quickly pulling his right hand out of its hiding place, he waved back and retreated slowly. She opened the door and shot a last look at her childhood friend who was walking home now, his feet kicking at something on the ground.

Kazuha quickly walked to her room, a happy feeling in her insides warming her up the whole time. She was incredibly happy about the amazing time she had spent with Heiji today but couldn't help wondering why he hadn't kissed her and couldn't help being disappointment. However, she knew he sometimes took longer for certain things so she decided not to worry about this and hoped he would gather his guts someday.

She quickly changed into her sleeping outfit that consisted of a soft grey, satin blouse and matching pants, washed her face, brushed her teeth and went back to her room. The date had left her in a romantic mood and she lit the violet lamp near her window as the only source of light in her room. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she looked at the lamp a little before stretching her arms high up in the air and then falling backwards on her bed with a happy sigh.

Meanwhile, Heiji was almost at home, walking grumpily while constantly railing himself for being such a damn coward. The vision of her smiling face seemed to be irrevocably engraved in his head. He really wished he could kick his own ass.

'_It would have been a perfect ending for the nice evening!'_ his heart told him for what seemed like the hundreth time.

'_I know, I know!'_ his mind argued back half heartedly for the millionth time. _'But I couldn't!'_

'_Why not?'_

'_Easy! Because she...because I...b-because we c-couldn't...well...'_

Heiji stopped in midstep, shocked at the realization that suddenly, every reason he had used before seemed totally stupid and irrelevant. Like a lame excuse he made up to not do it because he was scared.

Scared? Hattori Heiji? W-what???

His eyebrow twitched. He turned around and started running back where he came from, his heart smiling with a triumphant expression that clearly said: I told you so!

A couple of minutes later, Heiji was standing under what he knew was Kazuha's window and he was relieved to see a small light behind the curtains.

The way her father looked at him this evening, as if he was stealing his most precious possession right from under his nose, still very vividly in his mind made him think over his original plan to call out her name until she heard him and opened the window. He looked around him and bent to collect a few pebbles. After the sixth small stone collided with her window, she drew back the curtain to look down at the street.

He could see her eyebrows raise in surprise as she pulled back to open the window before sticking her head outside. "Heiji? What are you doing here?"

"I just...I..." his eyebrows drew themselves together. Before he could change his mind and back down again, he took a hold of the low branches of the tree right under her window, rather convenient as he found, and climbed up to her. The last time he had done this was a couple of years ago. They had loved to play with the tree when they were younger. Whenever she was grounded for something that he did, Heiji would come and keep her company to make up for it. Sometimes they would even sneak out this way to go to play.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternal, neverending way, he had reached her and climbed up the last bit to come face to face with his childhood friend. Holding on to the trunk of the tree and one branch, he grinned at her cockily.

"Hi."

"Eh..hi. W-what-?" She started confused but he cut her off.

"I just forgot something very important." His grin never left his face.

Kazuha only continued to look confused at him. "What? I don't remember you forgo-"

Before she could finish what she wanted to say, he cut her off, again. But this time, he didn't use words. He just pushed his body forward and pressed his lips to hers before she could react.

The detective felt uneasy as the only reaction he got from her was that her body stiffened. But then he had to supress the urge to thrust his fist in the air in triumph and scream out delighted as she leaned her head down and kissed him back.

It was their first, real kiss and it was sweeter than either had dreamed of. It ended way too soon and Heiji slowly pulled his head back, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. His eyes met hers and he noticed with satisfaction the equally happy smile on her face.

"Well, that's it then. Goodnight." He meant to climb back down, his eyes already searching for the next branch to step on but she held him back with a sudden outburst of his name. He looked at her confused, only now noticing that his own cheeks were burning and probably as red as hers.

"What?"

She beckoned him closer with a motion of her finger, a small grin apparent on her lips. He grinned in return and leaned again upwards to meet her easier. "Yeah?" he asked teasingly.

Kazuha giggled and with tender fingers took his face in her hands, her soft smile and heavy eyelids clearly mirrored by his face. Maybe she should say something, like how long she had waited for him to do that or how often she had dreamed about this but this moment felt simply perfect and romantic, even without words. Also, she believed that their looks of bliss said more than any large amount of words could.

She leaned down, catching his lips tenderly with hers in an endless sweet motion. Her heart started singing as she felt him lean into the kiss without a second of hesitation. Some time later, she pulled back, the grin still there.

"Good night then." she whispered, his face still securely in her hands.

He smiled and nodded slightly. "Sweet dreams."

Communicating mutely, they leaned in for a last, quick but endless gentle kiss, both enjoying the moment and each other to the limits.

As they pulled back, she let go of his face and straightened up a little. He gave her a last grin, then started to climb down. She watched him with a smile and wondered what he was doing when he suddenly climbed back up.

"Kazuha?" he burst out with her name quietly, his gaze a little troubled.

"Yes?" she answered.

"We can do this again, right?"

A gentle smile came over her features. "Yeah."

It didn't bother them that he hadn't specified what he was talking about, either. If he meant the date or the kiss since both belonged to their happiest memories so far. He flashed her a brilliant smile, nodded and this time climbed down the whole way.

Hands in his pockets in his cool manner, he turned a last time to see her look after him, waved with his hand, the superior smile still there and, as he found out, it wouldn't leave his face for a very, very long time.

Hattori Heiji, scared? Never!


End file.
